The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Jurors sent home ahead of deliberating verdict
Defence lawyer tells court ‘something does not smell right about the whole thing’
Jurors were sent home for the weekend after retiring to consider their verdicts in the trial of former first minister Alex Salmond on sexual assault allegations.
Salmond, 65, denies 13 alleged sexual offences against nine women, who were all working for the Scottish Government or within the SNP at the time.
The accusations span a period between June 2008 and November 2014 and range from him stroking a civil servant’s hair to trying to rape a former government official in Bute House.
Judge Lady Dorrian told jurors they must decide whether the charges have been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
She explained there are three verdicts available: guilty, not guilty and not proven – the latter two both being verdicts of acquittal in Scotland.
The judge asked the jury to begin considering their verdicts shortly before 2pm yesterday.
Verdicts can be returned unanimously or by a majority, with at least eight of the 15 jurors needing to agree.
Earlier yesterday, Gordon Jackson QC, defending, said there was a “pattern” where “something that was thought nothing of at the time” has become a criminal charge in the High Court in Edinburgh.
Mr Jackson started his closing speech to the jury of nine women and six men with a quote from one of the complainers. “I wish for my life the first minister was a better man and I was not here,” he said.
He said it was a “good line”, which was also used at the beginning of Crown prosecutor Alex Prentice QC’S closing speech on Thursday.
Mr Jackson said: “I’m in a court of law and I’m dealing, not with whether he could have been a better man, because he certainly could have been better.
“I’m dealing with whether or not it was established he was guilty of serious, sometimes very serious, criminal charges.”
Mr Jackson told the jury to find the charges proved requires a “very, very high standard of proof”.
He also said: “There’s something that
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This has gone far enough, gone on long enough, too long maybe... GORDON JACKSON QC
does not smell right about the whole thing and you’re supposed to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the former first minister was, not an eejit or inappropriate, it was criminal – serious, serious matters.”
Mr Jackson said Salmond has 30 years of public service, dealing with thousands of people, with charges coming only out of his time as first minister.
He said: “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not suggesting you can work it out either.
“But I do know this – every single complainer brought to this trial is in the political bubble.
“This has gone far enough, gone on long enough, too long maybe, and it’s time I say to you, quite bluntly, to bring this to an end.”
Salmond is on trial over accusations of sexual assault, including an attempted rape.
His lawyers previously lodged special defences of consent and alibi. Consent was given as a defence for three alleged sexual assaults and an alleged indecent assault against three women.